


The Mutants Are Missing

by Emzorzin3d



Category: Marvel, X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 23:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4038664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emzorzin3d/pseuds/Emzorzin3d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone's snatching young mutants and Wolverine's going to find out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The following Fanfic is part of a personal writing exercise. Ten years ago I submitted my very first fanfic on fanfiction.net. And it sucked. So I thought it would be interesting to try again and tackle it in a way I never would have done back then.

The father held the photo out with a shaking hand as he tried to describe the scene that had just happened. The picture was of a young boy, dark haired and with solid green eyes. A potential student for the Xavier institute.

The mother babbled through her tears, in a language that Logan didn't know. But he did know fear when he saw it. The father described the scene as best as he could. There was no need. Their front lawn had been devastated and tyre tracks ran across it. A van had come to a halt in their garden, collected the child and sped away again before the parents could do a thing.

Logan held up a hand, "Just tell me the color of the van." It was the only thing he couldn't work out for himself.

"Blue, blue! Dark blue." The father nodded manically then brought his hands together as if to pray.

"Please just bring him home."

"I'll get him back Mr Johal. I promise." Logan threw a leg over his motorbike and fired it into life. The pulsing of the engine was loud enough to drown out the sound of the Mrs Johal. He manouvered around a parked car and then he was away, leaving the terrible scene behind him.

It was a rural area with lots of small roads and shortcuts. Logan hoped his bike would let him catch up to them before they could get away. He had left his helmet behind, abandoned on the grass. It didn't matter, it let him smell better. He trusted his nose to follow the scent of burning tyres and exhaust but it was a task that grew in difficulty the faster he drove.

Half of tracking was intelligent guess work. Logan knew they'd most likely be aiming for the major roads, it was just a matter of picking the right one. When he reached a cross section he paused for a moment and sniffed the air. He wasn't entirely sure until his eyes looked to the ground and saw familiar tyre marks. They were still moving fast.

Logan revved the engine and leaned left, earning a beep as he cut across a car behind him. After a couple more inter-sections the buildings disappeared completely, giving way to farms and trees. There was only one way they could be going and to his relief the vehicle came into view at last. A navy blue van with blacked out windows.

The traffic was steady enough that he would have to act with caution. Logan caught up to the back of the van and then waited for a gap before veering out. Once he was beside the van he let his claws loose. His right hand let go of the accelerator and slashed a tyre. Logan hit the brakes and dropped back as he watched the van steer unsteadily. The driver lost control and the van broke through a barrier and crashed into a tree.

Logan came to a sudden stop and leapt from his bike. He ran forward and jabbed a claw through a lock, breaking the van's back doors. Two men came at him from either side. The first raised a baton and Logan grabbed him by the wrist. He twisted himself around and pulled the man over his shoulder, flipping him onto the ground. A kick to the face put him out of the fight.

The second man had a rifle which was carved into pieces before he could even cock it. Fear crossed the man's eyes for a moment and he looked ready to run. He seemed to swallow his fears and his hand went to the baton at his waist. A heavy punch to the stomach and another to the head and he was out cold with his friend.

Logan threw open the doors to see a mutant kneeling on the ground, though not the one he had been looking for. It was a girl in her late-teens with cuffs around wrists and something strapped to her back.

"You're not exactly the young Asian boy I was looking for," Logan said as if this was somehow their fault.

She offered him a wonky smile. "That's a very strange need you have there."

"What's your name kid?" he pushed up his chin as he asked.

"Sophie and I could use a hand." She lifted her hands and Logan sliced through the cuffs. "Wow, they're pretty handy."

Logan turned to leave only to realise he wasn't being followed. He checked back to see the girl standing but still in the van. She shrugged as if to apologise. "Sorry you're not quite done there." Logan hopped in and inspected the space behind her.

There was something growing from her back, tied together and lower down was a tail, a tail that had been locked to the floor. It had a bony tip and right below that was where it had been clamped. These men had been well prepared. Logan broke her free and left the thing on her back. He could deal with that once they were away.

"Get on, I'll take you home," he said, gesturing to his bike. He lifted it off the ground and hopped on. Now that the girl was free of the van he could get a better look. Her legs and feet were animalistic, as if she were a creature walking on its hindlegs. Her skin was tinged purple and scales decorated the edges of her face and the sides of her neck. They would have to ditch the bike once they were away or risk gaining too much attention.

Sophie climbed on and wrapped her arms around his waist. She managed to shout, "No helmets?" just as Logan drove back on to the road and the wind whipped her words away.

Logan went back the way he had come with the hopes of getting lost among the smaller streets. He also looked out for a potential new vehicle. The others back home probably wouldn't be too happy for him to steal but he had a kid he needed to keep safe. There were already people staring at the strange girl behind him.

When he spotted a small side-street or private carpark he would slow down and inspect them. "What are you doing?" asked Sophie, pushing her chin against his shoulder as she tried to get closer to his ear.

"Need to find a car, get you out of sight."

"Why didn't you just take the van back there?"

"A thing like that'll have GPS. They would've found us too fast." It was then that he spotted what he was looking for.

The bike was left behind a skip, buried amongst cardboard boxes and bin bags as Logan attempted to hide it. He hoped he'd be able to come back for it. Close by was a red station wagon. His claws made quick work of the lock and he held the door open for Sophie.

Sophie pointed a thumb to her back. "You'll need to deal with this otherwise I'll be lying on my tummy in the back seats." Logan pushed her shoulder to twist her around. He cut through what he hoped would be the last clamps.

There was an audible sigh from Sophie and she stretched out what Logan discovered to be a pair of leathery wings, a darker shade of purple to compliment her skin. Still impatient to get moving he immediately went back to the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

Sophie contemplated the passenger seat and changed her mind, opting for the back. She spread her wings awkwardly, twisting and curving them to fit in the small space. The first thing to do was get out of the area and put even more distance between them and the destroyed blue van. He would take the girl home but first he needed to ask some questions.

Logan worked his magic on the ignition and the car started with a low rumble. They shot out and on to the main road. "What happened kid, how'd they get you?" He glanced in the rear-view mirror, positioning it so he could see her better.

She threw up her hands and shook her head in disbelief. "I dunno, it was weird. I was at the store buying some things then the next thing I know a guy comes in with a gun, saying no one can leave. He kept asking the guy behind the counter about money and then about a safe. Then he left and the police arrived and then they arrested me instead."

"Sounds like a ruse to get to you without anyone fightin' it. You know where they were taking you?" he asked.

"A prison I guessed, I don't know. But hey, thanks for getting me out and everything. Really appreciate it." Sophie leaned her elbows on the two front seats and poked her head forwards with a smile.

Logan narrowed his eyes as a memory was jogged. "I know you don't I?"

"Well I am pretty memorable," she joked with a grin.

"Yeah, you were only little. 6 I think and your mother's chinese right?" Sophie nodded. "You didn't have the wings then."

"Nah, they didn't grow 'till later." Sophie's eyes lit up and she seemed to jump with excitement. "You must have been one of Mom's boyfriends, she's had a few over the years. Oh wait, I know you! My Mom told me. You're my dad!"

Logan almost steered into the path of an oncoming truck as his heart practically seized up with shock. He looked in the mirror to see the girl hiding a smirk behind her hand. "Sorry," she said.

"That was a lie. My Dad lives one State over."

"Don't do that again," he threatened.

"What?" she said innocently, "It was a joke!"

"All right half-pint tell me anything else you know and I'm dropping you home and I ain't coming in for coffee either."

Sophie leant back as far as her wings allowed and tapped a finger against her cheek as she thought back. "One of them mentioned Fern Ave but I know Fern Ave, the only thing there are apartments."

"That van you were in had room for more and I already know one other kid got snatched today. Stands to reason they could be after another." Logan tightened his grip on the wheel. "These don't seem like the type to give up. Might be able to head them off and stop them getting what they're after."

"Sounds exciting, want me to direct you?" Sophie poked her head forward again.

"I'm dropping you home."

"Come on, if someone's stealing mutants I feel like I should help. Anyway, if I don't tell you where home is then you don't have a safe place to drop me off."

Logan contemplated letting her out anyway. She could fly after all. Though he assumed the enemy would have ways to take her down, they seemed fairly well prepared. He didn't say another word, he simple grunted and gave a couple of nods. Sophie gave him a sly nod and began her to direct him.


	2. Chapter 2

Just as Sophie had said, Fern ave was home to a large apartment block as well as houses crammed in on both sides. There was a group of kids playing on the street, sometimes running up the front steps of one of the homes to retrieve another toy from inside. Further down a dog was jumping up at a chain fence and barking at the children, wanting to play.

Logan eyed the surroundings, hoping to spot an ideal place to park. Thanks to the purple mutant girl in the back seat he needed to find a parking spot where they could get out without drawing much attention. He settled for a space at the far end of the street, almost outside the apartment block itself.

"You might want to get down," he warned.

Sophie began to squirm and twist on the spot while her wings twitched and bent. She ended up almost at a right angle, her face against the car door and with one foot sticking out between the front seats, however her wings remained half open. It was as if someone were trying to control a pair of broken umbrellas.

"Uhhh. I think that's the best I can do..." she said. Logan twisted in his seat and raised an eyebrow at the mess she had created of herself.

"Nevermind," he said, "just sit normally."

Once righted, she rested her chin on the edge of Logan's seat. "So what's the plan?"

"Wait for men in a van to show up, find out where they're going and then go rescue a kid."

"Cool. Nice and simple. Want me to fly onto a roof top and get us a handy birds eye view?" She stretched out the fingers on one hand and immitated her scanning the landscape.

"If you want to be spotted by everyone on this street that's an excellent way to do that." Her shoulders drooped, as her excitement deflated. "There's nothing you could see up there that we can't see from right here, so you're staying put. And that goes double when the van arrives."

"Oh, what? But I was gonna help," she moaned.

"Tough."

The sky grew dark as they waited and the kids were pulled inside by their mothers one by one. The dog had grown quiet and lay down beside the gate, watching the street wth interest. After Sophie hummed and sang at least three renditions of her favourite musical number Logan was relieved to finally see the van race down the street.

"Jeez, it's a good thing those kids weren't still playing out," said Sophie, eyeing the vehicle with some distaste.

The van screeched to a halt right outside the apartments and two men jumped out, running inside with guns in hand. As soon as they were out of site Logan moved. He ran for the van and came to a stop out beside the van door, thumping against its side. He quickly became annoyed when he spotted Sophie running towards him.

Logan couldn't help but let out a low growl that eventually became words once Sophie was close enough to hear them. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back to the car."

Sophie took a place right next to him, clinging to the van in an attempt to be stealthy. "No way, we're in this together now."

Someone shouted inside the apartment block, the sound travelling through the open windows in the stairwell. Logan wondered if he had time to drag Sophie back and even grabbed her sleeve. She gave him a curious look and he dropped it.

They heard the shouts, this time from the doorway. Logan peered through van's windows and watched as the two men dragged a third. He was a wiry twenty-something in torn jeans.

"Are you even the cops?" he questioned on seeing the van. "You can't just take people." The final word turned into a manic scream.

Sophie stepped forward, her hands raised in fists and her face full of determination. Logan swung an arm out and stopped her. He pointed to the floor, a signal for her to stay put. Crestfallen, Sophie leant her back against the van again.

The back doors were opened and the vehicle shook as the young man was thrown inside. Logan sidled past Sophie and towards the back end. He crouched down and watched the men's feet, waiting for the perfect moment.

A hand grabbed the edge of the door and Logan kicked the man in the knee. He fell to the floor, crying out. Logan stepped around and looked for the driver. He was no longer at the back and so he checked around the side of the van.

Standing there was Sophie over the unconscious body of the driver. She had a single hand held gingerly behind her head. "What did you do?" Logan demanded to know.

"I flew over the top and tried to do a grabby, flippy thing but ended up just sort of landing on him. His head hit the pavement." The man's face was planted to the floor and blood was indeed starting to trickle from his forehead. "We should call an ambulance right?"

"Don't worry about it kid. His buddy can do that later."

Logan returned to his victim to find him trying to escape, his injured leg hanging uselessly behind him. Logan slung his arm around the man's neck and dragged him into the van. The mutant, chained to the floor as Sophie had been, could only stare in shock.

Logan crouched over the man, holding him firmly in place with one hand. He let his claws loose on the other and held them to the man's throat. "Who are you and why are you taking mutants?"

"I... I don... don't know," he stammered.

"Bullshit, who are you?"

"We're security contractors," he explained through deep breaths. "We're given a name, an address to pick them up from and another to drop them off at."

"And this place you drop them off at, what's it like? Is it easy to get into?"

"Armed guards, name checks. It's what you'd expect." He shrugged as if the point was pointless to explain.

"Looks like you're our way in then." The man's eyes widened with a renewed fear.

...

Sophie eyed the poor man bleeding on the floor of the van. She was sat down with her arms wrapped around her knees. Guilt threatened to overcome her, she only kept it at bay with the hope that he would receive some form of help at their destination.

At least they had managed to save a young mutant, one who currently shared the space with her in the back of the van. It had been Logan's decision to drop him off somewhere else, somewhere he could lie low for a little while.

"Did you know they were coming?" asked Sophie.

The man flicked the hair from his eyes. "Nope. Didn't think I did anything amazing enough to get any sort of attention."

"But you're a mutant, you must be able to do something amazing."

He shrugged. "I can change the state of water."

"Wow, so you could turn water to ice or melt snow, that sort of thing?" Sophie leaned forward, curious about this unusual power.

"Or boil the water in someone's blood," he added with a heavy tone. "It's why I hate using it. I don't do much with my life but at least I don't hurt people." Sophie shrank back a little, both at his frightening information and at her own guilt for hurting someone less than half an hour before.

"But you could help people," said Sophie. "You could unfreeze pipes in the Winter, you could..."

"I'm not interested. I'll help a neighbour but I'm not gonna start walking around showing off the fact I'm a mutant."

The two fell silent. It wasn't very often that Sophie got to meet other mutants. She always felt as if there should be a sense of community and companionship between mutants. But apparently others didn't feel the same way.

The van came to a stop near to a bus station and the mutant hoped out. He offered a brief thanks and they were on the move again. After anxiously waiting in the dark for what was definitely Sophie's definition of "too long", Logan opened the doors.

"Don't come out too far," he warned. Sophie walked in a crouch to the very back and hopped down. She allowed herself a quick peek to get her bearings.

They were parked outside what looked like a regular office building, except the entire area was surrounded by 10 foot walls topped with barbed wire. Security guards were posted at every entrance.

"I don't get it, I was expecting a prison," said Sophie.

"Trust me, every nasty secret will be hidden below ground. I've seen it before," Logan grumbled. "Don't suppose I can convince you to stay put?"

"Nope. Mutants are being taken and I want to help stop it. What's your plan?"

"Need to find out who's in charge, get him to tell us what's going on and free any prisoners on our way out."

Sophie nodded. It wasn't the most detailed of plans but it would do. She leant around the van door and scanned the building. On the highest floor was an extra-wide window where a man stood with his back to the glass.

"Important people have their office way up high, don't they?" asked Sophie.

"I suppose."

"Then I might have found who we're looking for. I could fly up there too," she pointed out.

"You'll get shot out of the sky," Logan warned.

"Then you better draw the fire for me."

Sophie spread her wings, giving Logan little chance to argue. His claws came out with a snikt and he went running towards the biggest gathering of guards he could see. Before she made her move Sophie leant towards the still-unconscious guard and took his baton.

Sophie leaped upwards and threw her wings down, boosting herself into the air. Her heart began to race at the sounds of gunfire and yelling. She hoped she hadn't just sent Logan off to his doom. She shook the thought from her mind. Logan didn't seem like a man to lose a fight.

Floor after floor whipped past her as Sophie flew higher and higher. At last she reached the one she was after and stopped to hover in mid-air. She threw the baton at the window, smashing the glass and flew inside.

The man that had been by the window had stepped back with his hands up to protect his face from the shards. Sophie grabbed his wrists and pushed him back. She landed with her feet either side of his waist as he half lay on his desk.

His face pulled back in a sneer of disgust at the sight of her and pushed her away. She hopped off and twisted in the air to land safely on the ground. She blocked his only safe exit and threw out her wings as wide as she could, hoping to instil some fear in him.

A wooden block with a named inscribed on metal teetered on the edge of the desk. It read "Jacob Seaton - CEO".

"Is that you?" Sophie asked, pointing the name. "Are you Seaton?"

"Who else would I be?" Seaton rolled over on the desk and placed his hands down to prop himself up again.

"Good. Then tell me why you're stealing mutants? Why was I arrested when I'd done nothing wrong? I'm too busy studying for an English Language course at University to even step a toe out of line." Sophie clenched her fists as something began to burn within her chest.

"Nonsense, you'd committed a crime." Seaton was on his feet and set about straightening his tie and brushing the debris off his sleeves.

Sophie opened her mouth and at first nothing came out. His words at astounded her. "I didn't commit any crime!" she demanded.

"Of course you did. You've got a pair of beautiful wings and a highly useful skill-set. It's a crime that instead of doing something with them, you choose to study such a pointless subject. And that is something we just had to rectify."

"And the kid who could do things to water? What was he doing with his life that was so terrible?" she spat.

Seaton shook his head and sighed. "Damn shame. A power like that and he does nothing but sit in his squalid little flat all day. Did he mention his mother pays his rent?"

Outside there was further shouting and a crashing sound followed by screeching metal. Seaton peered out with curiosity as if it was merely a car alarm going off.

"So you were going to arrest us for not living in a way that suits you?" asked Sophie. She struggled to keep her breathing at a steady pace, her anger threatened to get the better of her.

"We don't arrest people!" Seaton acted offended, whether it was honest or not, Sophie couldn't tell. "We want to train you to make you heroes. You'll be like police with powers. Work with us and you could put your skills to use saving lives. You could even be saving other mutants in a year."

"But you can't just force people into it, we deserve a choice." Sophie's wings drooped as anger became defeat.

Behind her the doors to the office were forced open and before Sophie could react there were arms all over her, grabbing at her arms and restraining her wings.

"I don't think you do," said Seaton, offering her a final smug grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Logan had been right about what was kept underground. Sophie was glad to know that secret underground levels never led to anything good. A group of four guards had brought her down to the lower levels. One had held her tail, two had taken a wing each and the last had led Sophie along by her handcuffed wrists.

After passing a secure doorway, Sophie had been met by the sight of two floors of prison cells. "Someone should let Seaton know the meaning of arrest because I don't think he knows." She had been terrified and yet she had said it all the same. The guards only held her tighter, twisting her wings painfully.

She had been shoved into an empty cell and left without water or bedding. All that was there was a bench with a slim mattress on top. Fearing what things might be lurking in the mattress, Sophie had opted to make herself as comfortable as she could on the floor.

As frightening as her predicament was, it wasn't the issue occuping her thoughts. She couldn't stop thinking about her brief conversation with Seaton. She had broken his window and landed on top of him, yet he had shown no fear. He spoke about using mutants for good but he had no shame in taking them from their homes.

After everything that had happened that day Sophie had been caught up in the excitement of it all. Now she was shaking with fury and all it had taken was for her to admit the immoral nature of what had been done to her. If there had ever been the idea that it might have been a mistake, those thoughts were gone.

Sophie was so caught up in her own thoughts she took a few moments to notice the commotion that was happening beyond her cell. She was just standing up as a friendly face appeared at the cell door. "Didn't take you long to end up down here did it?"

Logan swung his claws through the metal bars and removed the lock entirely. He pulled the door open with a squeak and beckoned for Sophie to come with him. She noticed the young boy at his side and only just remembered his reason for coming here.

"Found your boy then?" Sophie held out her hand and bent a little at the waist to match his height. "I'm Sophie, it's nice to meet you." The boy could only manage a nod and a stretching of the lips she assumed was an attempt at a smile.

"But how did you get here so quickly?" she asked.

"Your distraction upstairs split up their teams. Made it easier to take 'em out."

It was then that Sophie allowed herself to take in what was happening around them. Logan had sliced through every occupied cell and mutants were taking the opportunity to fight back against the guards. The walls lit up with flashes of gunfire and mutant powers. The roof was suffering damage as one mutant brought chunks of it falling down onto his victims.

"Come on, let's get out of here," said Logan.

"But we need to help," said Sophie, although her courage wavered.

"They're just taking out their frustrations at this point and if we stay too long we might get trapped when the roof finally gives way, so move it."

Logan jogged ahead of them, making the effort to stay close and protect them should the need arise. When any guards came close he would have them beaten and unconscious in a second. Two if he had to slice their gun in half first.

He was focused like a soldier yet he moved like an animal, sniffing the way ahead and acting with caution at every corner. Sophie found it remarkable to watch. He led them outside and around the building, running away from where the vans were parked.

"Shouldn't we be going the other way?" Sophie said between breaths. Her and the young boy were forced to run to keep up with him.

"We're getting an upgrade," said Logan, as if this should be answer enough.

...

The smile had returned to Sophie's face by the time Logan pulled the car up outside of her house. He had been checking on her in the rear view mirror throughout the journey. He assumed the car itself must have helped, stolen from the CEO's parking spot. It was a sleek, black vehicle with plenty of space for her to spread her wings and legs in the back seats.

The young boy had sat in the front with Logan. He had been silent for the entire ride but Logan had faith that Xavier would be able to help.

Logan opened the car door and peered in at her. "Still in the same house then?" She shuffled along the seats and stepped out.

"Damn right, it's great here," she grinned.

As if to prove her point a young boy on a bike road by and waved at Sophie. "Hey Soph, nice ride."

"Thanks Tim," she answered. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" He laughed and cycled with renewed effort.

A woman came out from the house opposite Sophie's and called to her. "We were starting to worry, you been out somewhere?"

"Something like that," said Sophie.

The woman opened the back of her car and pulled out a pair of linen bags. "That's nice. Could you tell your Mom I'm bringing her orange dish back tomorrow?"

Sophie lifted a hand a nodded. "Will do."

Logan couldn't quite believe his eyes. There was a purple winged mutant on their street and everyone treated her as a friend. No staring, no fear, just neighbours being friendly.

"Chuck would love this," said Logan, more to himself than to her. But Sophie had heard and looked up with a curious expression. "It seems like people are pretty nice around here."

Sophie shrugged, her eyes creasing as she smiled. She acted cool but it was obvious how happy it made her to be home. "People are used to me by now. It's not always perfect. We've had families move in and move straight back out again once they saw me. Doesn't happen too often though. Most of the time it's nice. I sometimes wonder if it's too nice. Makes me forget how bad it can be out there." Sophie pointed down the street.

The happiness had faded from Sophie's face and she shoved her hands in her pockets. "Do you really think he wanted mutants to help people? I know he was doing it the wrong way but maybe he's right, maybe I'm wasting my potential. Why should a girl with wings even bother to study English?"

Logan grasped Sophie by the shoulders and bent down until their eyes were level. "You study it because it's what you want to do. Don't let a bunch of assholes with guns threaten you into doing anything other than what you want to do." Sophie brightened at his words.

"And trust me I know guys like them. They don't want police they want weapons. You worked for someone like that and I guarantee you'd be hurting more people than you'd be saving."

"So why come after people who never did anything? Do they just not like the idea of mutants living normal lives? Is it inconvenient for them that I'm trying to do something positive? That I don't match their idea of what a mutant should be?"

"They don't matter Sophie. Whatever their philosophy might be on mutants they've got it wrong and you're proving that by being yourself. It's almost midnight and you still have neighbours saying hello. You want to do something good? Then keep doing what you're doing." By the time he let go of her a moved back, she was practically beaming.

Someone made a loud "Yoohoo" sound. It was Sophie's mother, walking out of the house in a dressing gown and slippers. "Sophie, I was getting worried." She pulled her daughter in for a hug. She winked at Logan even as her chin rested on Sophie's head. "But I'm glad to see you've finally met your father."

It happened again, a jolt of dread to her heart. Sophie pulled out of the hug and shook her head. "Too late, I already tried that one."

"Nevermind then." Her mother grabbed Sophie's chin and gave her a look of pure pride. "Would you like to come inside, Logan? It would be lovely to catch up." She winked again and it was then Logan realised just how uncomfortable he was and also how relieved he was that he had a valid excuse to leave.

"Sorry, got another kid who needs taking home. Bye you two." He turned to leave a abruptly stopped when Sophie yelled.

"Wait, I should give you something. Hold on." Sophie ran inside the house and left him alone with the mother for a couple of minutes. He tried to ignore her flirtatious looks.

"The years have been kind to you haven't they?"

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Sophie came running out again waving a ripped piece of card. She handed it to Logan and he saw that it had a phone number written on it.

"I wouldn't do anything for them. But I reckon I could do something for those X-men you mentioned. So have that, just in case." She clasped her hands together and have her wings a small shake.

"Feel free to call me too if you like."

Logan patted Sophie on the head in a sign of appreciation and headed back to the car. Once sat down he watched Sophie and her mother give their final waves of good bye before returning inside. Logan inspected the card with Sophie's number on it. He unzipped a pocket on his jacket and slid it inside before zipping it up again. It was the safest place he could think of.

"Let's get you home kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a huge fan of the drawing and illustration exercises where people re-do an old piece to see what progress they've made. I then wondered if I could do something similar with my writing. So the plan came to take my first fanfiction and give it a complete re-write from the ground up to see how I'd tackle it today.
> 
> The original fanfic was barely even a story. Just two short chapters, poorly edited and making no sense. The protagonist was called "Syphora" because that name was cool apparently. She had dragon wings, a tail and could fly. The wings and tail were something she could grow at will, pretty handy for when she wanted to look "normal". 
> 
> There was also supposed to be a past between her and Logan, the story being that the same people who gave Wolverine his claws also stuck metal on to the bones of her wings and the tip of her tail.
> 
> When I approached a re-write I wanted to change this situation between her and Wolverine. At first I thought of a scene where she confronts him in the street and he sees her wings looking tattered and bruised. She was going to be a harsh character and more vicious. But then darker stories don't necessarily make for interesting ones and I love the mix that comes from putting Logan with someone young and energetic.
> 
> I thought it'd be amusing to still have them sort of knowing each other but I wanted to avoid the Mary Sue trope of them being previously friends. Having Logan be a past flame of Sophie's mother seemed like it would create some funny and awkward situations. And the line about Logan being her dad is me playing around with the other popular trope of original characters being the children of main characters.
> 
> The next thing was to change how the wings worked and just how her powers and skill-set worked in general. Now the wings and tail are permanent, so no hiding the fact she's a mutant. I also wanted to get rid of this idea that she'd be a great fighter, it's too convenient. And finally that name. I think I was trying too hard to think of something that was "cool" so I've gone for a far simpler "Sophie" here.
> 
> The plot is built from scratch, designed to be a complete story rather than something long that I'd be tempted to abandon! The aim was to take a very friendly and kindly individual and put her through a struggle that stems from the fact she's a mutant and little else.


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